When you get dropped...get angry

...that's the less for today, kids. Rolled up to the start line at 7:35 this morning to take on a 54.91 mile road race and 60 of some of the toughtest girls in Colorado. Road races always start off at a pace so easy you'll able to chat with the girl next to you for a few miles, and today was no exception. Before hitting the monster climb of the day - 2700 feet of climbing over roughly 10 miles - we hit a few little bloopers that opened up the legs nicely, or so I thought. If we'd have stopped the race there, I would have called it a solid day, having stayed with the lead group. Oh yeah, but there was still that hill up ahead. We hit the hill and it was game on, and game over for Kat...or so I thought. About 2 miles up the climb I was promptly spit off the back of the peloton which was just being shredded apart by the pace of the Category P/1/2 girls. I dangled by myself for the rest of the climb which hit 20% grades at the top, which I crawled up at a pathetic 4 mph. Ouch! At points I thought it might have been faster to walk, but there is no honor in scraping up your beautiful carbon road shoes. Hitting the top of the monster I got some relief on the screaming descent. Spinning out in my 50-12, I tucked in for the ride...55 mph...winding my way down the valley roads...no brakes needed, thank you. Dreading having to ride the next 35 miles solo, I was happy when a group of 5 of us formed together. 5 girls means 5 times as fast as me riding solo, right? In theory, but not when 2 girls decide to spoil the fun and sit on for the ride. This is where my lesson begins. I'm already pissed about getting dropped, and now I'm pissed that I'm towing around 2 bumps on a log. We're not here to wear tread out of our tires ladies, let's get moving. Charged with some all-natural testosterone (which works wonders for getting the legs moving fast...just ask Mr. Landis) I decided that I was going to make these girls hurt...and hurt they did, popping off my wheel one by one. The last 20 miles were littered with short steep climbs out of the valley and back into Ft. Collins...and this is where I smashed it and put the hurt on. Riding every climb to the brink of leg-exploding pain, one by one the girls fell back, until there was only one left. I looked back at her on one of the climbs, and she managed to say through gasps for air "It's just me". "Allright" I replied, then shifted down into a bigger gear and dropped her too. I may have gotten dropped, and I may have been riding for 29th place, but damnit I was going to gain back some self-respect, and this was turning into the best race of my life (at least this 2nd half of the race). And I was having a helluva lot of fun. Over the next 15 miles, I picked off girls one-by-one, until I came upon a CSU girl who looked over at me and said "Where did you come from"? (Hmm...I've heard that question before). I couldn't shake this girl, but made her suffer on last 2 climbs of the day before smashing it in the big dawg 1/2 mile before the finish and leaving her shaking her head asking "where did she come from"?


On a more peaceful note, take a look at what I've been up to at work...Peep Wars. It's things like this that make me glad I don't work at a big stuffy firm ...we don't know how to take ourselves seriously at my office, thank goodness! The Peep Wars began back in March when someone brought in a package of Peeps into the office which sat unopened and uneaten for a few weeks. Taking matters into my own hands, I decided that I should hide a Peep in my supervisor's office, which he then found and re-hid in my office. We've had many hiding place - inside folders, taped to the back of the phone, placed on top of the door, and then latest... inside my pencil holder. I'm ashamed to say this one took me a few hours to find.
Once I found the little Peep, I decided he should be taped to the window so he can enjoy the view while I come up with a plan for where hide him next in my boss' office. Don't jump little Peep!